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I've been working with PLA for a while now, and there are a lot of things I like about it. One is how well it sticks to the blue painter's tape on my print bed. I don't have to worry about prints spontaneously detaching from the bed, etc. Unfortunately, the PLA seems to stick a little too well. Whenever I remove a print from the bed, it often tears up bits of the tape along with it. Is anyone else having this problem? How can I make the filament stick just a little less, or else how can I easily remove the tape from the bottom of my prints? I've tried printing higher off the bed, but that doesn't do much for really large prints. The PLA seems to be bonding to the tape, almost melting into it.

I have only used hairspray, Aqua-Net, have printed 4.2 kg of PLA and ->never<- had a print lift.
I didn't say that out loud, I'm sure my Max didn't hear me

Zerosink wrote:I have only used hairspray, Aqua-Net, have printed 4.2 kg of PLA and ->never<- had a print lift.
I didn't say that out loud, I'm sure my Max didn't hear me

On glass or kapton?

glass

For all my PLA (1.6km of filament so far), I use a 10:1 mixture of water to Elmer's White Glue sprayed on the borosilicate plate. Works fantastic. I use a little 3oz spray bottle I got from the local drug store.

g.

Does the elmers glue work for abs?

I'm just starting to tune my setup (first print was Thursday night). I'm using Sky Blue PLA from SeeMeCNC and I started using the blue painters tape. My first build worked fine, but subsequent builds (I've switched the tape) haven't adhered as well. I'm not really sure why. However, I'm done with painters tape I was going to try some ABS and figured I needed to get some hairspray. I was at Target and they didn't have Aquanet. So I searched for the ingredients on my iPhone and found that Vidal Sassoon Pro Series, VS Extra Firm Hold had the exact same ingredients. I've used it to print two models that weren't sticking on the tape earlier, and they've stuck perfectly! After the first one, I used a razor blade to scrape up the hairspray and then I put down another layer before the next. I still haven't tried printing ABS, yet, but I'm sold on the hairspray for PLA Of course, this particular can cost $3.89 or something like that

No go on the hairspray for me. My piece detached mid-print. Although, I was using my wife's hairspray, which is not aquanet. Is the brand that big a deal?

Also, what do you do to clean the glass, and how often do you spray it?

dsnettleton wrote:No go on the hairspray for me. My piece detached mid-print. Although, I was using my wife's hairspray, which is not aquanet. Is the brand that big a deal?

Also, what do you do to clean the glass, and how often do you spray it?

What is the big deal with hairspray is that it contains an ingredient called polymers or copolymers.
You clean the glass by using a single edge razor blade and scrape off the coating. You can tell if you
need more spray because the parts stop sticking as well as they should.

I haven't tried ABS on the white glue mix. I use AquaNet "3" (extreme hold or something like that) for ABS. I can print 2 or 3 of the same part without having to touch-up the area with new spray. You don't need to clean it off between prints.

g.

Eaglezsoar wrote:What is the big deal with hairspray is that it contains an ingredient called polymers or copolymers.

To clarify, I wasn't asking about hairspray in general, but the actual brand of hairspray. In other words, everybody seems to use Aquanet, so I was wondering if a different brand of hairspray would make that big a difference (e.g., Aquanet works, others don't). This is assuming, of course, that the alternative brands don't have the exact same ingredients, like dpmacri's.

I have a penchant for tricky prints, so I need really good adhesion. If I have to go back to the tape, I will, but I hate having to use a cabinet scraper on my workpieces just to remove it from the bottom of them.

Virtually any brand of hairspray will work. Use the ones that say extra or extreme hold and check the back for the words polymer
or copolymers. Unscented is best because as some have indicated, you don't want your place smelling like a brothel.

Another option if you don't want the hairspray is to use the UHU Glue Stick. You can find many references to it on the forum.
Most people use the white UHU glue stick, smear it on the glass plate and let it dry. Works for many.

Eaglezsoar wrote:Unscented is best because as some have indicated, you don't want your place smelling like a brothel.

So that's what brothels smell like.

I can confirm that Aquanet works better than Garnier Fructis Style, Ultra Strong. It sprays differently too. More volume, but a tighter cone so there's less overspray.